The Batavia Public Library
The Batavia Public Library is more than a library. It is a community center, a place to meet and learn. They offer enrichment classes for all ages and, of course, they've got books. Below is a list of green reading and resources that has been compiled by Robert L. Brubaker, Reference Librarian.
From March 24th until the end of April, the library will have a display opposite the checkout desk titled "Saving the Environment". Brochures with this bibliography will be available.
NONFICTION
[Call numbers are for resources in the Batavia Public Library. For call numbers in other libraries, consult their on-line catalogs]
Berry, Thomas. The Dream of the Earth (1988). 215.7 BER. Published by the Sierra Club, this is an eloquent statement by a Catholic priest, cultural historian, and environmental activist about ethical and religious reasons for conserving the environment.
Caldicott, Helen. Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer (2006). 333.7924 CAL. The president of the Nuclear Policy Research Institute contends that using nuclear power instead of coal and petroleum based sources of energy cannot solve the problem of global warming because the true cost is prohibitive, there is not enough uranium in the world, and nuclear power actually contributes to global warming.
Clapp, Jennifer. Paths to a Green World: The Political Economy of the Global Environment (2005). 333.7 CLA. Examines the links between the global political economy and ecological change by focusing on views of market liberals, institutionalists, bioenvironmentalists, and social greens.
Conserving the Environment (1999). 333.72 CON. Discusses the environmental crisis, whether pollution can be reduced, and whether free-market forces can preserve the environment.
CQ Researcher on Saving the Environment (2001). REF 333.72 CQ. Contains articles from the Congressional Quarterly about environmental issues.
Devine, Bob. Bush versus the Environment (2004). YA333.72 DEV. A veteran journalist for National Geographic provides an overview of the Bush administration’s environmental policies.
Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (2005). 304.28 DIA. An analysis of ecological reasons for the collapse of previous civilizations with implications for what could happen in the future if action is not taken..
Gonick, Larry. The Cartoon Guide to the Environment (1996). 574.5 GON. An easy guide to the main topics of environmental science and ecology.
Gore, Albert. An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It (2006). 363.73874 GOR. A book version of the documentary film. See DVDs below.
Gottlieb, Roger S. A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and Our Planet’s Future (2006). 201.77 GOT. Discusses the increasing concern for protection of the environment among mainstream religious groups such as the National Council of Churches, teachings by Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist theologians who emphasize the importance of “stewardship of God’s creation,” and efforts by religious activists to get the Bush administration and legislators to address global warming.
Hill, Julia Butterfly. One Makes The Difference: Inspiring Actions That Change Our World (2002). 332.72 HIL. Tips for environmentally safe living from an activist who tried to save Redwoods forests by living for two years in a Redwood tree to prevent cutting and publicize her cause. Suggestions about non-toxic cleaning products, recycling, locally grown produce, and nonviolent protesting.
Horner, Christopher. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism (2007). 363.73834 HOR. A review in LINC states that Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, explodes the “top ten global warming myths” and “reveals the full anti-American, anti-capitalist, and anti-human agenda of today’s environmentalists.”
Kennedy, Robert Francis. Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy (2004). 333.7 KEN. In a harsh indictment, an environmental attorney and activists cites facts to support his accusations and makes a passionate case for environmental controls.
Kingsolver, Barbara. Small Wonder (2002). 814.54 KINGSOLVER. A collection of essays that has been described as “an extended love song to the world we still have.”
Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac; and Sketches Here and There (1968, ©1949). 508 LEO. The New York Times Book Review stated that this is “some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land.”
Mills, Stephanie. In Service of the Wild: Restoring and Reinhabiting Damaged Land (1995). 639.9 MIL. Discusses her own efforts to restore logged-over land at her 35-acre home in Northern Michigan and five restoration projects elsewhere, including Aldo Leopold’s Sand County farm in Wisconsin, prairie preserves in and near Chicago, and an ecologically operated village in India.
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006). 394.12 POL. The social, ethical, and environmental impact of the food we eat.
Porter, Eliot. Eliot Porter: The Color of Wildness (2001). Oversize 779.092 POR. A beautifully illustrated retrospective of photographs by Porter, who became a major advocate for environmental conservation and championed the importance of color photography for nature at a time when followers of Ansel Adams preferred black and white.
Reece, Erik. Lost Mountain: A Year in the Vanishing Wilderness: Radical Strip Mining and the Devastation of Appalachia (2006). 622.292 REE. The review in LINC states that this is “an impassioned account of a business rife with industrial greed, devious corporate ownership and unenforced environmental laws” and “an inspiring call to arms to defend one of America's most threatened natural treasures.”
Richardson, B. J. Christianity, Evolution and the Environment: Fitting it Together (2001). 231.7652 RIC. A scientist who is a Christian argues that evolution and theology are compatible and discusses the moral dimensions of the ecological crisis.
Rome, Adam Ward. The Bulldozer In The Countryside : Suburban Sprawl And The Rise Of American Environmentalism (2001). 333.73 ROM. Discusses metropolitan waste disposal, campaigns to save wetlands and floodplains, soil and wildlife in a history of attempts to reduce environmental damage from suburban development.
Speth, James Gustave. Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment (2004). 363.7 SPE. The dean of Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies contends that the global environmental crisis is serious and that we are running out of time.
Stein, Kathy. Beyond Recycling : A Re-Users's Guide : 336 Practical Tips : Save Money And Protect The Environment (1997). 640.7 STE.
Sweet, William. Kicking The Carbon Habit: Global Warming And The Case For Renewable And Nuclear Energy (2006). 333.794 SWE A science journalist acknowledges the crisis posed by global warming, doubts that oil consumption can be cut much in our car-driven culture, concurs that wind energy is the best alternative source, but believes that nuclear energy, despite dangers posed by the Chernobyl disaster, is another preferred energy source for reducing global warming.
Wilson, Edward O. The Creation, An Appeal To Save Life On Earth (2006). 333.9516 WILSON. Distinguished biologist E. O. Wilson, a professor at Harvard University for over five decades, was a Southern Baptist as a boy in Alabama, so he has some understanding of the evangelical Christian point of view. In The Creation, his appeal in the form of a Letter to a Southern Baptist Pastor tries to find common ground between secular humanists and evangelical Christians for taking care of the earth and avoiding continued devastation of the environment. Wilson points out that the impact of humans on habitat destruction and extinction of species has been almost as devastating as the last cataclysm 65 million years ago when a giant meteorite crashed into the Yucatan peninsula, destroying dinosaurs and most other life forms; and that continued loss of species, habitat destruction, and environmental degradation today will have significant impacts on human life as well.
VIDEOS
An Inconvenient Truth: A Global Warning (2006). DVD 363.73874 INC. Al Gore’s movie based on his campaign to expose myths and misinformation about the seriousness of global warming and the need to take action before it is too late.
Global Warming: The Signs and the Science (2005). DVD 363.73874 GLO. A PBS documentary that “brings the reality of climate change to life and offers viewers a variety of ways to make a difference in their own communities.”
Thomas Berry: The Great Story (2002). DVD 201.77 THO. The career of a Catholic priest and environmental activist and his beliefs about religious reasons for conserving the environment.
FICTION
Barr, Nevada. High Country (1904). FIC BARR, NEVADA. The twelfth in a series of Anna Pigeon mysteries set in national parks has park ranger Anna risking her life in the historic Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. Others include the first in the series, Track of the Cat (1993) set in Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas; Ill Wind set in Mesa Verde National Park; Blind Descent set in Carlsbad Caverns National Park; and Hard Truth set in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Berry, Wendell. A World Lost (1996). FIC BER. One of a series of novels and story collections by Berry about the intersecting lives of residents of a fictional rural community in Kentucky called Port William. Berry’s concern for the environment, interpersonal relations, the importance of family farming, and dislike of changes produced by corporate agriculture are themes in his poetry, other novels such as Nathan Coulter, Jayber Crow, and The Memory of Old Jack, and essays such as What Are People For?
Crichton, Michael. State of Fear (2004). FIC CRICHTON, MICHAEL. In a thriller about global warming that contends environmentalists are wrong and scientific evidence for warming is thin, a research team goes to the Antarctic to foil environmental extremists who are planning “attacks of environmental terror to convince the world of impending ecological disaster.”
Hegland, Jean. Into the Forest (1996). FIC HEG. Two teen-aged sisters in Northern California struggle to survive after a collapse of technology and civil order.
Hiason, Carl. Skinny Dip (2004). FIC HIASSEN. A hilarious but indignant novel focusing on environmental degradation in Florida with a marine biologist falsifying water pollution levels for a ruthless businessman whose enterprises are poisoning the Everglades.
Hurwitz, Greg Andrew. Minutes to Burn (2001). FIC HURWITZ, GREGG. A satiric novel set in a year when the ozone layer is gone, earthquakes are everywhere, evolution does strange things, and a team is sent to the Galapagos Islands to combat a rogue virus and man-eating monsters.
Kingsolver, Barbara. Prodigal Summer (2000). FIC KINGSOLVER, BARBARA. During a summer in Southern Appalachia, forest ranger and wildlife biologist Deanna has an affair with Eddie, who turns out to be a bounty hunter trying to kill young coyotes she tries to protect after their return to her national forest. Focuses on environmental issues such as ecological damage caused by excessive use of pesticides, organic farming, protection of wildlife.
Lee, David. So Quietly the Earth (2004). 811.54 LEE. A collection of poetry by Utah’s poet laureate, celebrating the beauty of the desert Southwest, including poems such as Canyonlands Requiem and Bright Angel Point at Sunset with environmental conservation as an underlying theme.
Robinson, Kim Stanley. Forty Signs of Rain (2004). FIC ROBINSON, KIM. The first title in another trilogy by a winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Lotus awards for science fiction focuses on the earth’s future and potential catastrophes produced by global warming and the conflict between policies advocated by scientists and environmentalists and policies championed by industrialists and their political supporters. The story is continued in Fifty Degrees Below (2005) and Sixty Days and Counting (2007).
WEB SITES
Sign up for news and updates and receive action alerts so you can express your views to legislators and administrators:
• Environmental Law and Policy Center: www.elpc.org/
• Friends of the Earth: www.foe.org/
• League of Conservation Voters: www.lcv.org/
• National Audubon Society: www.audubon.org
• National Park Foundation: www.nationalparks.org/Home.asp
• National Wildlife Federation: www.nwf.org/
• Sierra Club, Illinois chapter: www.sierraclub.org/il/
• Sierra Club: www.sierraclub.org
• The Nature Conservancy: www.nature.org/
• Union of Concerned Scientists: http://www.ucsusa.org/
• Wilderness Society: www.wilderness.org/
Other sites for information:
• Earth Trends Environmental Information: www.earthtrends.wri.org/
• Environmental Working Group: www.ewg.org/
• Green Festival: www.greenfestivals.org/content/view/729/388/
• Illinois Environmental Protection Agency: www.epa.state.il.us/
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: www.ipcc.ch/
• Kane County Environmental Management: www.co.kane.il.us/Environment/
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: www.epa.gov/